And the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas received more than $69 million.

The concern for San Antonio researchers is that if federal funding is cut, the scramble for CPRIT dollars will only intensify.

“When NIH funding drops, competition for these other sources increases because more scientists will apply,” Weiss says. “It will be more difficult to procure CPRIT funds.”

The Budget Control Act of 2011 required that a congressional super committee identify $1.2 trillion in federal budget cuts over a 10-year period. The committee was unable to reach agreement on a plan, thus setting up the automatic cuts beginning in January unless Congress or the president intervene.

Dr. Anthony Tolcher, director of clinical research for South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics LLC (START), a San Antonio-based firm that has expanded its cancer-related work globally, says academic institutions may need to come to grips with new fiscal realities. Too many of them, he contends, have been overly dependent on federal funding.

START officials have made the conscientious decision to self-fund the organization’s cancer research so that it is not dependent upon less reliable government money.

Several congressional leaders, including U.S. Rep Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, have attempted to insulate the NIH and its cancer research agency, NCI, from severe budget cuts.

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